Our Founder, Monsignor Dunne
Born and raised in Omaha, Monsignor Peter F. Dunne was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Omaha in 1944. In his first assignment as a new priest, he was sent to Boys Town where he spent his first four years with the legendary founder of Boys Town and now Servant of God, Monsignor Edward J. Flanagan. Monsignor Dunne went on from Boys Town to serve in a number of parishes in the Archdiocese until his retirement in 1989.
A gifted preacher throughout his active ministry, Monsignor Dunne remained active in retirement, giving workshops, directing retreats, traveling with groups, and keeping a busy appointment schedule. He was involved with numerous apostolates throughout his priesthood and tirelessly promoted devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary everywhere he went. At the age of 80, he became the founding chaplain of KVSS Spirit Catholic Radio.
At the age of 90, he guided the founding of our apostolate, Maria Regina Cleri, an apostolate dedicated to encouraging prayerful support of the ministerial priesthood and prayerful promotion of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.
From that time on, he prayed untiringly for his brother priests until he passed into the arms of the Lord on October 8, 2015.
Passionately in love with the Lord and with the Sacred Priesthood of Jesus Christ, Monsignor Dunne was and continues to be an inspiration to all of us. The prayers and meditations you will find in these booklets come out of the heart of his seventy-one years of ministry.
Our Founder, Monsignor Dunne
Born and raised in Omaha, Monsignor Peter F. Dunne was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Omaha in 1944. In his first assignment as a new priest, he was sent to Boys Town where he spent his first four years with the legendary founder of Boys Town and now Servant of God, Monsignor Edward J. Flanagan. Monsignor Dunne went on from Boys Town to serve in a number of parishes in the Archdiocese until his retirement in 1989.
A gifted preacher throughout his active ministry, Monsignor Dunne remained active in retirement, giving workshops, directing retreats, traveling with groups, and keeping a busy appointment schedule. He was involved with numerous apostolates throughout his priesthood and tirelessly promoted devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary everywhere he went. At the age of 80, he became the founding chaplain of KVSS Spirit Catholic Radio.
At the age of 90, he guided the founding of our apostolate, Maria Regina Cleri, an apostolate dedicated to encouraging prayerful support of the ministerial priesthood and prayerful promotion of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.
From that time on, he prayed untiringly for his brother priests until he passed into the arms of the Lord on October 8, 2015.
Passionately in love with the Lord and with the Sacred Priesthood of Jesus Christ, Monsignor Dunne was and continues to be an inspiration to all of us. The prayers and meditations you will find in these booklets come out of the heart of his seventy-one years of ministry.
Monsignor Dunne’s Legacy
The meditations on the priesthood that you will read on this website came out of the hearts and prayers of the authors out of the heart of Monsignor Dunne who loved and lived his priesthood to the fullest for seventy-one years and out of the many months his co-author spent praying, meditating and writing before the Blessed Sacrament.
The apostolate of Maria Regina Cleri initially came together as a group to work on publishing these meditations. As the group, working in early 2009, were putting the meditations into a booklet format and seeking ways to publish them, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, announced a special “Year for Priests”. We were so amazed! There was no mistaking the timing of the Holy Spirit in this project! The group formed the apostolate of Maria Regina Cleri to finish the work of publication and meet the overwhelming demand for the books that came almost instantly from all over the United States and several foreign countries.
